Papa Leopold Mozart was very strict. He was a composer and violinist in Salzburg in Austria. When he was finished working for the day, Leopold came home and gave his daughter and son music lessons. Over and over they played what he taught them. They spent hours every day practicing. Both children became really good musicians. But the boy, Wolfgang, was even more talented than his sister.
Wolfgang was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria. (On the map, the little star inside the Austrian monarchy shows where Salzburg is.) Six children had come before him, so he was the baby of the family. But only Wolfgang and his big sister, Maria Anna, lived past their first birthdays. Back then, when babies or young children got sick, there were no medicines like there are today. So, sadly, it was common for children to die.
Because Wolfgang had such a long name, his family called him Wolferl, or sometimes Wolfie, for short. Maria Anna was called Nannerl. And the family dog was called Bumperl.
When Nannerl was seven, Papa Leopold started teaching her how to play the clavier. Wolfie, who was only three, could not keep away from the lessons. He would sit on the floor, listening to the music while she played. But Wolfie was not satisfied. He wanted more: He wanted to play, too. After Nannerl’s lesson was over, he went up to the clavier. He was so small that he had to stand on his toes to reach the keys. He tried one note and then another. He liked the sounds that came out of the clavier. They made him smile. But when he played two notes he didn’t like, it made his ears hurt. He’d become so upset that he’d cry. Even as a tiny child, Wolfie knew which notes sounded right together and which notes did not.
Papa Leopold started giving Wolfie lessons, too. Soon Wolfie could play all the tunes in Nannerl’s music notebook.
As soon as Wolfie heard a tune, he could play it right back. Papa Leopold could hardly believe it. He made notes on how quickly and easily the little boy learned music.
Once, when Wolfie was about four, Papa Leopold saw a sheet of “music” that the boy had been working on. At first, Papa laughed, thinking it was nonsense. But when he looked more closely, he realized that it was a musical composition. And a complicated one at that. Many of the notes were smudged and written over. He stopped laughing and asked Wolfie about it. Wolfie agreed that it was complicated. He said, “…you must practice until you can get it right…” and then he showed his father how it should be played.
At five, Wolfie composed two more pieces of music for the clavier. This means that he heard tunes in his head and played them. Amazed, Papa Leopold wrote them down in his notebook. Soon Wolfie was reading music. Papa Leopold saw that his son had a rare gift. He gave him special ruled sheets of music paper. That way, Wolfie could write down the music he heard in his head. Wolfie was writing music even before he learned to write words.
Years later, when Wolfie had grown up, his father wrote him a letter describing what he had been like: “As a child and a boy, you were serious rather than childish, and when you sat at the clavier or were otherwise intent on music, no one dared to have the slightest jest with you … your expression was so solemn.”
Yet making music was also great fun for young Wolfie. He thought about it and played it all the time. Music was always part of the games that he invented. His father’s friend, the musician Johann Schachtner, came to live with the family for a while. He wrote, “If we, he and I, were carrying his toys from one room to another, the one of us who went empty-handed always had to sing or fiddle a march as we went.” Writing music let Wolfie express all his feelings. When he was happy, he would make up a fast tune, like an allegro. When he felt sad, he would make up a slow tune, called an andante. These are Italian words that composers and musicians use to describe how music should be played. When a piece of music should be played very slowly, it is called an adagio. If it should be played fast, it is a presto. Soft tunes, played lightly, are called piano or pianissimo. Loud tunes are labeled forte or fortissimo.
Like many children in the eighteenth century, Wolfie and Nannerl did not go to school. They spent the days in their small house where Papa Leopold was their only teacher—for music and everything else.
With Papa Leopold’s help, Wolfie and Nannerl studied reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and geography. Later, when Wolfie started traveling, he learned foreign languages, like Italian and French. (Wolfie and Nannerl grew up speaking German, as did everyone else in Austria.) He also studied the ancient language of Latin.
Papa was strict with lessons as he was with everything. Wolfie’s mother, Anna Maria, was not as strict. Her father was a bass singer, so she knew about music. But although Mama sometimes tried to shield Wolfie and Nannerl from Papa’s anger, she never openly went against him, either. Mostly, she agreed to what Leopold wanted.
One day, Leopold invited some musicians to his house. They were going to practice a piece of music that Leopold had written for the harpsichord and two violins. Wolfie, who was not quite seven, came into the room, holding a small, half-sized violin.
Parts of the Violin
Papa Leopold had gotten the violin for Wolfie. But Papa hadn’t started giving him lessons yet. Wolfie wanted to play with his father and his friends. But Papa Leopold said no. Wolfie had to wait until he learned how.
Wolfie began to cry.
One of the musicians was Papa’s friend Johann Schachtner. He felt sorry for the little boy. He invited Wolfie to come play along side him. He told Leopold that if Wolfie played softly, no one would hear him play. That way, Wolfie would not disrupt the practice. Leopold agreed, but only if Wolfie promised to play very quietly. The musicians started playing. Herr Schachtner stopped playing after a few minutes. But Wolfie continued. Everyone was astonished. Wolfie had taught himself to play the violin. He also taught himself to play the organ.
Wolfie loved his father and wanted, more than anything, to please him. “Next to God comes Papa,” he said. Every night before bed, he composed a different melody that he would sing out loud for Papa Leopold. Papa had to sing the second part of the melody. After the singing was done, Wolfie would kiss his father and go to sleep.
Although not as gifted as her brother, Nannerl was also a talented musician. She played the harpsichord. Encouraged by Wolfie, she composed music, too. Soon, news of Wolfie’s and Nannerl’s talents reached Vienna. Vienna was a big city and the capital of Austria.
One day, a messenger on a handsome white horse came to the Mozart home in Salzburg. Wolfie and Nannerl were asked to come to Vienna. There they would play before the Empress Maria Theresa.
It took the family nearly a week to get ready.
Finally, they boarded a stagecoach for Vienna. They had a lot of things to take with them. Besides their clothes, they packed a clavier, two violins, and cases of music. But they did not take Bumperl, their dog. He had to stay home.
The trip to Vienna took another whole week. The stagecoach moved slowly over the bumpy, muddy roads. When it grew dark, the Mozart family stopped for the night at inns along the way. Finally, they arrived in Vienna.
Vienna was a magical city, filled with palaces and castles. It was the home to the University. There were also many beautiful gardens and grand churches. Musicians came for its concert halls. Vienna was known as a center for music and art.
When Wolfie was first introduced to the empress, he ran right over and jumped on her lap. Then he gave her a big hug and lots of kisses. The empress, who was a mother herself, was charmed. Later, when she heard Wolfie and Nannerl perform, she was deeply impressed by their playing.
At the palace, everyone dressed in the most splendid clothes. So the empress gave Wolfie and Nannerl each a special set of clothes to wear. Wolfie’s new suit was lilac-colored and trimmed with wide, gold braiding. Wolfie liked the fancy clothes and wore them proudly. All his life, he would enjoy wearing beautiful and expensive outfits.
At one point during the visit, Wolfie tripped. He was helped up by the empress’s daughter, Princess Marie Antoinette. Wolfie liked the pretty princess, who was seven. Right on the spot, he asked her to marry him. Everyone burst out laughing. Wolfie didn’t understand that the little princess was already engaged to a French prince. One day, she would be the queen of France.
When the Mozarts returned home, Papa Leopold and Mama had a lot of thinking to do. They realized that Wolfie and Nannerl were highly unusual children. Salzburg was not a big enough or important enough city for their talents. Leopold wanted the world to see—and hear—his exceptional children. Leopold decided he would take his children on a concert tour. They would perform for important people throughout Europe.
Leopold knew that they would be paid well for their work. Money was very important to Papa Leopold. He always worried about having enough. A long tour was just the thing to make the children famous—and the parents rich. |